The netcode sucks, the single player options are utterly barebones, my one attempt at trying to learn this game competitively only resulted in utter frustration at how bad the buffering system feels, and the obnoxious hype culture surrounding this game's speculation scene has resulted in some of the most agonizing discussions I've seen surrounding a video game but goddamn, the time I played this for hours with two friends while talking over Discord was one of the most magical experiences I've ever had playing a video game

Every so often something comes out that seems to invoke some kind of deep insecurity in all the other creatives I know. A genuine mania of "I will never create anything as special as this".

I can't say it's ever happened to me, but I'd put Undertale up there alongside some of Bo Burnham's absolute best as one of the very few things that has made me...Envious of its creator. Undertale didn't make me question my own worth as a creator, but it did make me frustrated that I haven't made anything on this level yet, because, jesus. The sheer passion, the raw, earnest nature, the mastery of like 4 different artistic practices that is on display on Undertale is insane.

This is a game that constantly defies and warps RPG conventions, has a branching, replayable and often deeply, existentially disturbing main story, has fun and creative combat that makes even random encounters at least enjoyable, has consistently funny and likeable characters and some of the best "bits" I can recall ever seeing in a videogame (Mettaton's cooking show and almost anything to do with Papyrus stand out) all the while having one of the Top 5 Greatest Videogame Soundtracks Of All Time, fight me on that.

I went into Undertale largely spoiled on almost everything. I knew there were 3 routes, who the final boss of each was, who most of the main characters were etc. and yet this game still had me deeply invested and enjoying every minute of it. On top of this, it's short! You get all this good shit in like, 8 hours or less if you want! Yes!! Yes!! Normalise short games!! Down with the 100+ hour JRPGs and open-world slogs!! Stop making them and playing them you freaks!!

Basically Undertale is objectively a masterpiece and deserves all the praise it's gotten. Stop hating shit out of principle of its popularity you're cringe + you're white + ratio